Times are toughening up. What looked to be an economy crash but mending seems to have longer prospects for healing. Now I am in no way an economist, neither interested in how people manage to accumulate wealth in the numbers they have managed to lose during the last couple of years. I am however interested in what makes people become the personalities they are.

One thing I find odd is that, for a majority of citizens of the developed countries, gaining wealth seems to eradicate your interest in social issues. I have often heard people say: If I win the lottery, I would share with my family or help my friends. So we still take care of our own. That sort of goes for earned or inherited wealth too. With the odd exclusion of an embarrassing family member. Some might give a dollar here or there for charity. Or a few dollars to be fair.

Gaining wealth (in whichever way) however seems to come with a “this elevates me above the rest”-card. One has “earned” the rights and privileges that comes with money. One has to protect this money for the safekeeping of the family/business/self. Which elevates the holder to higher rights in everyday life.
And in losing wealth during this cruel crisis, the holders are unjustly hurt, have lost more than working man and thus suffered more, have been abused by speculators and so on.

I have two points on that. Firstly, one cannot exist without the other: there would be no wealth, no privileges and no elevation without a vast amount of people working, buying and using whatever generated the money. So yeah, you got it, but not on your own accord and definitely not untouched by others. Secondly; Money does not make you better, simply by being there. It makes you richer, but what you have someone else does not have. And we have a clever saying here; Your last suit has no pockets.

And now so much wealth is lost. After all fictive paper is just that.

So this is the time to decide what kind of person you want to be.

Sadly, it must be a human trait never to learn from our mistakes because I hear the past shouting at us to not repeat our mistakes from the Holocaust among others. I also see that a lot of people do not hear the past shouting at all.

In times of crisis we turn again to attacking the weak, the different or the poor. We call immigrant for animals (or worse). We cry out how our countries cannot keep spending so much money on welfare for the working class. We question whether the sick, disabled or crazy really need that kind of care in today’s society. We name call the politicians who address these issues. We bully people into following these beliefs and thoughts by falsely laying the blame of our financial crisis on these groups of people. We bully the press into printing these beliefs instead of letting them report independently because we need to get our countries back in working order (the old working order that is).

What happened to accepting fate? Why not say; Right, I had a great joyride and now it is over? Get on with life, building something new or finding joy in lesser things.

I do get it. I understand how badly you get knocked down when life throws you a curveball. Not because I lost wealth or position. But because my children were dealt a harsh hand in life’s big poker game. I could have become bitter. Chosen to be a hater. I could have blamed all the people who carved out our health programme, so that accidents were bound to happen one day. But I chose not to. And I still choose every day to be better than that.

Yes, fate can be tough on you, but at least money is still only money. Get some perspective and decide what kind of person you want to be. And choose to be that person every day.

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About Astrid Lequime

Founder of the Noah Lequime Foundation.
Our goal is to brighten the lives of underprivileged special needs children around the world.
Social worker, philanthropist and mother of three children. Two are special needs children.